Kohli Tops T20 Rankings, India Remain No. 1

Dubai: Powered by his marauding knocks in the World Twenty20 so far, Indian batsman Virat Kohli on Tuesday became the top-ranked batsman in the ICC rankings, while India remained static at the No.1 spot in the team list.

Kohli, who averages 92 after scoring 184 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of over 132, had entered the tournament 24 points behind Aaron Finch, but has now opened up a 68-point advantage over the Australian, the ICC said in a statement.

In the bowlers’ table, West Indies’ Samuel Badree has displaced Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to return to the number-one position. Badree has taken six wickets in four matches to date, while Ashwin has dropped to third after managing just four wickets in as many matches.

Four of the top five sides will feature in the semifinals of the ICC World Twenty20, which will be played in Delhi and Mumbai on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Number-one ranked India will go head to head with third-ranked West Indies in Mumbai on Thursday, while in the first semi-final in Delhi on Wednesday, second-ranked New Zealand will square-off against fifth-ranked England.

India have retained their pre-tournament ranking as well as points, while the West Indies have gained two points to move to 120. This means both the former champions, who each won three of their four second round matches, are now separated by seven points.

Martin Guptill is New Zealand’s highest-ranked batsman after the opener has moved up two places to third following his contribution of 125 runs in three matches at a strike-rate of over 162.

West Indies’ flamboyant Chris Gayle has gained one place and is now ranked sixth after scoring 104 runs in two innings at a stunning strike rate of 208.

Among the bowlers, New Zealand’s Adam Milne and India’s trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra are the bowlers who have made impressive gains and are expected to feature in the final leg of what has been a highly-competitive tournament to date.

Milne’s three wickets in three matches have helped him rise six places to sixth, Jadeja’s four wickets in four matches have moved him up three places to seventh, Bumrah’s three wickets in four matches have lifted him 13 places to 13th and Nehra has leaped 14 places to 16th following his four wickets in as many matches.

Australian Shane Watson has signed off on his T20 career as the number-one ranked all-rounder. In the batting charts, Watson finished in 10th spot (up by three places) after scoring 96 runs, while he has ended up in 29th spot (up by five places) in the bowlers’ list after taking five wickets in four matches.

Afghanistan, who consistently produced solid performances and eventually caused the biggest upset of the tournament to date by defeating the West Indies, have seen a number of players head in an upward direction.

Having slayed the giants of ICC T20 World Cup 2016 -- India and New Zealand -- in their respective semi-finals, West Indies and England clash in the final of the tournament at the iconic Eden Gardens on Sunday.